If Virtual Learning Isn’t Working For Your Kids, Maybe These Seven-Word Billboards Will

Boulder agency WorkinProgress offers an alternative to educating little ones during the coronavirus crisis

Every day at 12 p.m. EST, a new mini lesson will appear on digital billboards in Boston, Chicago, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and Washington D.C. The billboards are located in areas near high-density housing to maximize the number of eyeballs they reach. Those families who don’t live in the vicinity can also access the lessons online on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook channels.

Among the first lessons include: “A square is just a rectangular rhombus,” “Insects have six legs. Spiders have eight,” and “Spanish: the official language of 20 countries.”

According to WIP co-founder Matt Talbot, the idea came from a very real place. “It was definitely inspired by what many of our employees and partners are experiencing at home, with households having one, two, three, or four kids to teach and keep on track,” he says. “The struggle is not just to teach them, but keep them entertained and engaged. Teachers had to adapt to not having their classroom overnight, and parents had to become teachers overnight. Everyone is also trying to create some new routine that school used to provide, and so we really liked the idea of putting these lessons up at the same time every day to help provide that in some small way.”

Over the next month, the campaign aims to run from 300 to 400 different lessons. All the lessons are sourced from school teachers, who are also highlighted individually in each lesson post. Others are invited to submit future lessons on the campaign website sevenwordlessons.com.

Teachers who submit lessons will be compensated $25 for each lesson that gets published. They can also choose to donate that money to DonorsChose, an educational nonprofit that helps classrooms in need.